Amended in Senate May 11, 2016

Senate BillNo. 1407

Introduced by Senator De León

(Principal coauthor: Senator Jackson)

February 19, 2016

An act to amend Sections 11106, 16520, 23910, and 30105 of, and to add Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 29180) to Division 7 of Title 4 of Part 6, of the Penal Code, relating to firearms.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1407,
as amended, De León. Firearms: identifying information.

Existing law authorizes the Department of Justice to assign a distinguishing number or mark of identification to any firearm whenever the firearm lacks a manufacturer’s number or other mark of identification, or whenever the manufacturer’s number or other mark of identification or distinguishing number or mark assigned by the department has been destroyed or obliterated.

This bill would, commencing July 1, 2018,begin insert and subject to exceptions,end insert require a person who manufactures or assembles a firearm to first apply to the department for a unique serial number or other identifying mark, as provided. The bill would, by January 1, 2019,begin insert and subject to exceptions,end insert
require any person who, as of July 1, 2018, owns a firearm that does not bear a serial number to likewise apply to the department for a unique serial number or other mark of identification. The bill would prohibit the sale or transfer of ownership of a firearm manufactured or assembled pursuant to these provisions. The bill would prohibit a person from aiding in the manufacture or assembly of a firearm by a person who is prohibited from possessing a firearm. The bill would make a violation of these provisions a misdemeanor. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The bill would require the department to issue a serial number or other identifying mark to an applicant meeting specified criteria and would allow the department to charge a fee to recover its costs associated with assigning a distinguishing number or mark pursuant to the above provisions.

Existing law allows an
individual to request that the Department of Justice perform a firearms eligibility check for that individual. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for a person or agency to require or request an individual to obtain a firearms eligibility check.

This bill would require a person to complete a firearms eligibility check before the department may grant an application for the assignment of a serial number or mark of identification. The bill would exempt this provision from the above prohibition on requiring or requesting an individual to obtain a firearms eligibility check.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified
reason.

SECTION 1.

Section 11106 of the Penal Code is amended to 2read:

3

11106.

(a) (1) In order to assist in the investigation of crime, 4the prosecution of civil actions by city attorneys pursuant to 5paragraph (3) of subdivision (b), the arrest and prosecution of 6criminals, and the recovery of lost, stolen, or found property, the 7Attorney General shall keep and properly file a complete record 8of all of the following:

P3 1(E) Reports provided pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with 2Section 27500) of Chapter 4 of Division 6 of Title 4 of Part 6, or 3pursuant to any provision listed in subdivision (a) of Section 16585.

4(F) Forms provided pursuant to Section 12084, as that section 5read prior to being repealed on January 1, 2006.

6(G) Reports provided pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with 7Section 26700) and Article 2 (commencing with Section 26800) 8of Chapter 2 of Division 6 of Title 4 of Part 6, that are not dealers’ 9records of sales of firearms.

10(H) Information provided pursuant to Section 28255.

11(I) Reports
of stolen, lost, found, pledged, or pawned property 12in any city or county of this state.

13(2) The Attorney General shall, upon proper application therefor, 14furnish the information to the officers referred to in Section 11105.

15(b) (1) The Attorney General shall permanently keep and 16properly file and maintain all information reported to the 17Department of Justice pursuant to the following provisions as to 18firearms and maintain a registry thereof:

19(A) Article 1 (commencing with Section 26700) and Article 2 20(commencing with Section 26800) of Chapter 2 of Division 6 of 21Title 4 of Part 6.

22(B) Article 1 (commencing with Section 27500) of Chapter 4 23of Division 6 of Title 4 of Part 6.

24(C) Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 28050) of Division 6 25of Title 4 of Part 6.

26(D) Any provision listed in subdivision (a) of Section 16585.

27(E) Former Section 12084.

28(F) Section 28255.

29(G) Section 29180.

30(H) Any other law.

31(2) The registry shall consist of all of the following:

32(A) The name, address, identification of, place of birth (state 33or country), complete telephone number, occupation, sex, 34description, and all legal names and aliases ever used by the owner 35or person being loaned the particular firearm as listed on the 36information provided
to the department on the Dealers’ Record of 37Sale, the Law Enforcement Firearms Transfer (LEFT), as defined 38in former Section 12084, or reports made to the department 39pursuant to any provision listed in subdivision (a) of Section 16585, 40Section 28255 or 29180, or any other law.

P4 1(B) The name and address of, and other information about, any 2person (whether a dealer or a private party) from whom the owner 3acquired or the person being loaned the particular firearm and 4when the firearm was acquired or loaned as listed on the 5information provided to the department on the Dealers’ Record of 6Sale, the LEFT, or reports made to the department pursuant to any 7provision listed in subdivision (a) of Section 16585 or any other 8law.

9(C) Any waiting period exemption applicable to the transaction 10which resulted in the owner of or the person being loaned the 11particular firearm acquiring or being
loaned that firearm.

12(D) The manufacturer’s name if stamped on the firearm, model 13name or number if stamped on the firearm, and, if applicable, the 14serial number, other number (if more than one serial number is 15stamped on the firearm), caliber, type of firearm, if the firearm is 16new or used, barrel length, and color of the firearm, or, if the 17firearm is not a handgun and does not have a serial number or any 18identification number or mark assigned to it, that shall be noted.

19(3) Information in the registry referred to in this subdivision 20shall, upon proper application therefor, be furnished to the officers 21referred to in Section 11105, to a city attorney prosecuting a civil 22action, solely for use in prosecuting that civil action and not for 23any other purpose, or to the person listed in the registry as the 24owner or person who is listed as being loaned the particular firearm.

25(4) If any person is listed in the registry as the owner of a firearm 26through a Dealers’ Record of Sale prior to 1979, and the person 27listed in the registry requests by letter that the Attorney General 28store and keep the record electronically, as well as in the record’s 29existing photographic, photostatic, or nonerasable optically stored 30form, the Attorney General shall do so within three working days 31of receipt of the request. The Attorney General shall, in writing, 32and as soon as practicable, notify the person requesting electronic 33storage of the record that the request has been honored as required 34by this paragraph.

35(c) (1) If the conditions specified in paragraph (2) are met, any 36officer referred to in paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, of subdivision 37(b) of Section 11105 may disseminate the name of the subject of 38the record, the number of the firearms listed
in the record, and the 39description of any firearm, including the make, model, and caliber, 40from the record relating to any firearm’s sale, transfer, registration, P5 1or license record, or any information reported to the Department 2of Justice pursuant to any of the following:

3(A) Section 26225, 27875, or 27920.

4(B) Article 1 (commencing with Section 26700) and Article 2 5(commencing with Section 26800) of Chapter 2 of Division 6 of 6Title 4 of Part 6.

7(C) Article 1 (commencing with Section 27500) of Chapter 4 8of Division 6 of Title 4 of Part 6.

9(D) Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 28050) of Division 106 of Title 4 of Part 6.

11(E) Article 2 (commencing with Section 28150) of Chapter 6 12of Division
6 of Title 4 of Part 6.

13(F) Article 5 (commencing with Section 30900) of Chapter 2 14of Division 10 of Title 4 of Part 6.

15(G) Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 33850) of Division 1611 of Title 4 of Part 6.

17(H) Any provision listed in subdivision (a) of Section 16585.

18(2) Information may be disseminated pursuant to paragraph (1) 19only if all of the following conditions are satisfied:

20(A) The subject of the record has been arraigned for a crime in 21which the victim is a person described in subdivisions (a) to (f), 22inclusive, of Section 6211 of the Family Code and is being 23prosecuted or is serving a sentence for the crime, or the subject of 24the record is the subject of an emergency protective
order, a 25temporary restraining order, or an order after hearing, which is in 26effect and has been issued by a family court under the Domestic 27Violence Protection Act set forth in Division 10 (commencing 28with Section 6200) of the Family Code.

29(B) The information is disseminated only to the victim of the 30crime or to the person who has obtained the emergency protective 31order, the temporary restraining order, or the order after hearing 32issued by the family court.

33(C) Whenever a law enforcement officer disseminates the 34information authorized by this subdivision, that officer or another 35officer assigned to the case shall immediately provide the victim 36of the crime with a “Victims of Domestic Violence” card, as 37specified in subparagraph (H) of paragraph (9) of subdivision (c) 38of Section 13701.

39(3) The victim or person to
whom information is disseminated 40pursuant to this subdivision may disclose it as he or she deems P6 1necessary to protect himself or herself or another person from 2bodily harm by the person who is the subject of the record.

3

SEC. 2.

Section 16520 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

4

16520.

(a) As used in this part, “firearm” means a device, 5designed to be used as a weapon, from which is expelled through 6a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of 7combustion.

8(b) As used in the following provisions, “firearm” includes the 9frame or receiver of the weapon:

10(1) Section 16550.

11(2) Section 16730.

12(3) Section 16960.

13(4) Section 16990.

14(5) Section 17070.

15(6) Section 17310.

16(7) Sections 26500 to 26588, inclusive.

17(8) Sections 26600 to 27140, inclusive.

18(9) Sections 27400 to 28000, inclusive.

19(10) Section 28100.

20(11) Sections 28400 to 28415, inclusive.

21(12) Sections 29010 to 29150, inclusive.

22(13) Section 29180.

23(14) Sections 29610 to 29750, inclusive.

24(15) Sections 29800 to 29905, inclusive.

25(16) Sections
30150 to 30165, inclusive.

26(17) Section 31615.

27(18) Sections 31705 to 31830, inclusive.

28(19) Sections 34355 to 34370, inclusive.

29(20) Sections 8100, 8101, and 8103 of the Welfare and 30Institutions Code.

31(c) As used in the following provisions, “firearm” also includes 32a rocket, rocket propelled projectile launcher, or similar device 33containing an explosive or incendiary material, whether or not the 34device is designed for emergency or distress signaling purposes:

35(1) Section 16750.

36(2) Subdivision (b) of Section 16840.

37(3) Section 25400.

38(4) Sections 25850 to 26025, inclusive.

39(5) Subdivisions (a), (b), and (c) of Section 26030.

40(6) Sections 26035 to 26055, inclusive.

P7 1(d) As used in the following provisions, “firearm” does not 2include an unloaded antique firearm:

21(e) As used in Sections 34005 and 34010, “firearm” does not 22include a destructive device.

23(f) As used in Sections 17280 and 24680, “firearm” has the 24same meaning as in Section 922 of Title 18 of the United States 25Code.

26(g) As used in Sections 29010 to 29150, inclusive, “firearm” 27includes the unfinished frame or receiver of a weapon that can be 28readily converted to the functional condition of a finished frame 29or receiver.

30

SEC. 3.

Section 23910 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

31

23910.

The Department of Justice, upon request, may assign 32a distinguishing number or mark of identification to any firearm 33whenever the firearm lacks a manufacturer’s number or other mark 34ofbegin delete identification, or wheneverend deletebegin insert identification. Wheneverend insert the 35manufacturer’s number or other mark of identification or a 36distinguishing number or mark assigned by the department has 37been destroyed or obliterated, the Department of Justice, upon 38request, shall assign a distinguishing number or mark of 39identification to any firearm in accordance with Section 29182.

P8 1

SEC. 4.

Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 29180) is added 2to Division 7 of Title 4 of Part 6 of the Penal Code, to read:

3

4Chapter 3. Assembly of Firearms

5

6

29180.

(a) For purposes of this chapter, “manufacturing” or 7“assembling” a firearm means to fabricate or construct a firearm, 8or to fit together the component parts of a firearm to construct a 9firearm.

10(b) Commencing July 1, 2018, prior to manufacturing or 11assembling a firearm, a person manufacturing or assembling the 12firearm shall do all of the following:

13(1) Apply to the Department of Justice for a unique serial 14number or other mark of identification pursuant to Section 29182.

15(2) (A) Within 10 days of manufacturing or assembling a 16firearm in accordance with paragraph (1), the unique serial number 17or
other mark of identification provided by the department shall 18be engraved or permanently affixed to the firearm in a manner that 19meets or exceeds the requirements imposed on licensed importers 20and licensed manufacturers of firearms pursuant to subsection (i) 21of Section 923 of Title 18 of the United States Code and regulations 22issued pursuant thereto.

23(B) If the firearm is manufactured or assembled from polymer 24plastic, 3.7 ounces of material type 17-4 PH stainless steel shall 25be embedded within the plastic upon fabrication or construction 26with the unique serial number engraved or otherwise permanently 27affixed in a manner that meets or exceeds the requirements imposed 28on licensed importers and licensed manufacturers of firearms 29pursuant to subsection (i) of Section 923 of Title 18 of the United 30States Code and regulations issued pursuant thereto.

31(3) After the serial number
provided by the department is 32engraved or otherwise permanently affixed to the firearm, the 33person shall notify the department of that fact in a manner and 34within a time period specified by the department, and with 35sufficient information to identify the owner of the firearm, the 36unique serial number or mark of identification provided by the 37department, and the firearm in a manner prescribed by the 38department.

39(c) By January 1, 2019, any person who, as of July 1, 2018, 40owns a firearm that does not bear a serial number assigned to it P9 1pursuant to either Section 23910 or pursuant to Chapter 44 2(commencing with Section 921) of Title 18 of the United States 3Code and the regulations issued pursuant thereto, shall do all of 4the following:

5(1) Apply to the Department of Justice for a unique serial 6number or other mark of identification pursuant to Section 29182.

7(2) Within 10 days of receiving a unique serial number or other 8mark of identification from the department, the unique serial 9number or other mark of identification provided by the department 10shall be engraved or permanently affixed to the firearm in 11accordance with regulations prescribed by the department pursuant 12to Section 29182 and in a manner that meets or exceeds the 13requirements imposed on licensed importers and licensed 14manufacturers of firearms pursuant to subsection (i) of Section 15923 of Title 18 of the United States Code and regulations issued 16pursuant thereto.

17(3) After the serial number provided by the department is 18engraved or otherwise permanently affixed to the firearm, the 19person shall notify the department of that fact in a manner and 20within a time period specified by the department, and with 21sufficient information to identify the owner of the firearm, the 22unique
serial number or mark of identification provided by the 23department, and the firearm in a manner prescribed by the 24department.

25(d) (1) The sale or transfer of ownership of a firearm 26manufactured or assembled pursuant to this section is prohibited.

27(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the transfer, surrender, or 28sale of a firearm to a law enforcement agency.

29(3) Any firearms surrendered, transferred, or sold to a local law 30enforcement agency pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be destroyed 31as provided in Section 18005.

32(4) Sections 26500 and 27545, and subdivision (a) of Section 3331615, shall not apply to the transfer, sale, or surrender of firearms 34to a law enforcement agency pursuant to paragraph (2).

35(e) A person, corporation, or firm shall not knowingly allow, 36facilitate, aid, or abet the manufacture or assembling of a firearm 37pursuant to this section by a person who is within any of the classes 38identified by Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 29800) or 39Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 29900) of Division 9 of this 40code, or Section 8100 or 8103 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

P10 1(f) If the firearm is a handgun, a violation of this section is 2punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one 3year, or by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), or 4by both that fine and imprisonment. For all other firearms, a 5violation of this section is punishable by imprisonment in a county 6jail not to exceed six months, or by a fine not to exceed one 7thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment. 8Each firearm found to be in violation of this section
constitutes a 9distinct and separate offense. This section does not preclude 10prosecution under any other law providing for a greater penalty.

11

29181.

Section 29180 does not apply to or affect any of the 12following:

13(a) A firearm that has a serial number assigned to it pursuant to 14either Section 23910 or pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with 15Section 921) of Title 18 of the United States Code and the 16regulations issued pursuant thereto.

17(b) A firearm made or assembled prior to December 16, 1968, 18that is not a handgun.

19(c) A firearm which was entered into the centralized registry 20set forth in Section 11106 prior to July 1, 2018, as being owned 21by a specific individual or entity if that firearm has assigned to it 22a distinguishing number or mark of identification to that firearm 23by virtue
of the department accepting entry of that firearm into the 24centralized registry.

25(d) A firearm that has a serial number assigned to it pursuant 26to Chapter 53 of Title 26 of the United States Code and the 27regulations issued pursuant thereto.

28(e) begin deleteAn antique firearm as end deletebegin insertA firearm that is a curio or relic, or 29an antique firearm, as those terms are end insertdefined in Section 479.11 30of Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

31

29182.

(a) (1) The Department of Justice shall accept 32applications from, and shall grant applications in the form of serial 33numbers pursuant to Section 23910 to, persons who wish to 34manufacture or assemble firearms pursuant to subdivision (b) of 35Section 29180.

36(2) The Department of Justice shall accept applications from, 37and shall grant applications in the form of serial numbers pursuant 38to Section 23910 to, persons who wish to own a firearm described 39in subdivision (c) of Section 29180.

P11 1(b) An application made pursuant to subdivision (a) shall only 2be granted by the department if the applicant does all of the 3following:

4(1) For each transaction, complete a personal firearms eligibility 5check, demonstrating that the applicant is not prohibited by state 6or federal law from possessing, receiving, owning, or purchasing 7a firearm.

8(2) Presents proof of age and identity as specified in Section 916400. The applicant shall be 18 years of age or older to obtain a 10unique serial number or mark of identification for a firearm that 11is not a handgun, and shall be 21 years of age or older to obtain a 12unique serial number or mark of identification for a handgun.

13(3) Provide a description of the firearm that he or she owns or 14intends to manufacture or assemble, in a manner prescribed by the 15department.

18(c) The department shall inform applicants who are denied an 19application of the reasons for the denial in writing.

20(d) All applications shall be granted or denied within 15 calendar 21days of the receipt of the application by the department.

22(e) This chapter does not authorize a person to manufacture, 23assemble, or possess a weapon prohibited under Section 16590, 24an assault weapon as defined in Section 30510 or 30515, a 25machinegun as defined in Section 16880, a .50 BMG rifle as 26defined in Section 30530, or a destructive device as defined in 27Section 16460.

28(f) The department shall adopt regulations to administer this 29chapter.

30

29183.

The Department of Justice may charge an applicant a 31fee for each distinguishing number or mark it issues in an amount 32sufficient to reimburse it for the actual costs associated with 33assigning a distinguishing number or mark to a firearm pursuant 34to Sections 29180 and 29182 and for conducting a personal 35firearms eligibility check pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision 36(b) of Section 29182. All money received pursuant to this section 37shall be deposited in the Dealers’ Record of Sale Special Account 38of the General Fund, to be available upon appropriation by the 39Legislature.

P12 1

29184.

The Department of Justice shall maintain and make 2available upon request information concerning both of the 3following:

4(a) The number of serial numbers issued pursuant to Section 529182.

6(b) The number of arrests for violations of Section 29180.

7

SEC. 5.

Section 30105 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

8

30105.

(a) An individual may request that the Department of 9Justice perform a firearms eligibility check for that individual. The 10applicant requesting the eligibility check shall provide the personal 11information required by Section 28160 or 28165, as applicable, 12but not any information regarding any firearm, to the department, 13in an application specified by the department.

14(b) The department shall charge a fee of twenty dollars ($20) 15for performing the eligibility check authorized by this section, but 16not to exceed the actual processing costs of the department. After 17the department establishes fees sufficient to reimburse the 18department for processing costs, fees charged may increase at a 19rate not to exceed the legislatively approved cost-of-living 20adjustment for the
department’s budget or as otherwise increased 21through the Budget Act.

22(c) An applicant for the eligibility check pursuant to subdivision 23(a) shall complete the application, have it notarized by any licensed 24California Notary Public, and submit it by mail to the department.

25(d) Upon receipt of a notarized application and fee, the 26department shall do all of the following:

27(1) Examine its records, and the records it is authorized to 28request from the State Department of State Hospitals pursuant to 29Section 8104 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to determine 30if the purchaser is prohibited by state or federal law from 31possessing, receiving, owning, or purchasing a firearm.

32(2) Notify the applicant by mail of its determination of whether 33the applicant is
prohibited by state or federal law from possessing, 34receiving, owning, or purchasing a firearm. The department’s 35notification shall state either “eligible to possess firearms as of the 36date the check was completed” or “ineligible to possess firearms 37as of the date the check was completed.”

38(e) If the department determines that the information submitted 39to it in the application contains any blank spaces, or inaccurate, 40illegible, or incomplete information, preventing identification of P13 1the applicant, or if the required fee is not submitted, the department 2shall not be required to perform the firearms eligibility check.

3(f) The department shall make applications to conduct a firearms 4eligibility check as described in this section available to licensed 5firearms dealers and on the department’s Internet Web site.

6(g) The
department shall be immune from any liability arising 7out of the performance of the firearms eligibility check, or any 8reliance upon the firearms eligibility check.

9(h) Except as provided in Sections 29180 and 29182, a person 10or agency shall not require or request an individual to obtain a 11firearms eligibility check or notification of a firearms eligibility 12check pursuant to this section. A violation of this subdivision is a 13misdemeanor.

14(i) The department shall include on the application specified in 15subdivision (a) and the notification of eligibility specified in 16subdivision (d) the following statements:

18“No person or agency may require or request an individual to 19obtain a firearms eligibility check or notification of firearms 20eligibility check pursuant to Section 30105 of the Penal Code. A21
violation of these provisions is a misdemeanor.”

23“If the applicant for a firearms eligibility check purchases, 24transfers, or receives a firearm through a licensed dealer as required 25by law, a waiting period and background check are both required.”

27

SEC. 6.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to 28Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because 29the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school 30district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or 31infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty 32for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of 33the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within 34the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California 35Constitution.